Whisper on the Wind
by UnlimitedDreams
Summary: Kagome falls under a curse and is now invisible and intangible, able to influence the world only through her miko powers. She sees Sesshoumaru wounded and helps him. Will he fall for her, or turn her away once he finds out who she is?
1. Chapter 1

**Whisper on the Wind: Part One**

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters. They all belong to Rumiko Takahashi.

Kagome leaned back into the couch and sighed. The battle with Naraku was over and the jewel shards had all been collected. Her friends had sustained some injuries, but none too serious. The battle had ended rather well. After recovering from their injuries, Sango and Miroku had gotten married. Kohaku was now living with them. Sango's brother had been freed from Naraku's control by Sesshoumaru.

Inuyasha and Kikyou had gotten married. She had accepted the fact relatively fast. Perhaps it was when she realized that her feelings for Inuyasha had been just a mere crush; a crush that she had already gotten over.

And Kouga had married Ayame. Kagome smiled as she remembered the shock on Ayame's face when Kouga proposed to her. Kouga had finally accepted that Kagome did not return his affections.

Kagome smiled, happy for the two of them. Then, her thoughts drifted to the demon lord. He had battled magnificently. Then again, he would most likely take it as an insult if anything less was thought of him. She was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn't notice Souta enter the room.

"Hey sis," he said, "what are you thinking about?"

Kagome almost leapt of her seat in surprise. "Souta! You almost gave me a heart attack!"

"Sorry sis. Just wanted to ask when Inuyasha would be coming again." Souta replied with a shrug. He had been disappointed that Kagome wouldn't be with Inuyasha after all.

"He'll probably be here in the next few weeks. He still can't resist ramen." Kagome commented with a small laugh.

Souta narrowed his eyes in confusion. "You won't be going back to the feudal era then?" he questioned. "Didn't you want to go there during the vacation?"

"Of course I'm going. It's just that I'll be travelling alone this time."

"Are you sure? You know it isn't safe in the feudal era." Souta said, worried about his sister's safety.

"Don't worry. I'll be fine. Just don't tell mum that I'll be travelling alone. She'll be worried. And get Inuyasha to cover up for me too. Tell him that if he reveals to mum that I'm travelling alone, I'll sit him through to the other side of the earth."

"Sure sis." Souta had a huge grin on his face, thinking that it would be extremely interesting if that really should happen.

"Well then," Kagome said, slipping off the couch, "I'll be heading off now. I should be back in about two weeks."

Souta nodded. "Bye!"

Kagome then picked up her trusty yellow backpack. It had already been stocked full from the day before. She jumped down the well and saw the familiar flash of blue light. It felt so good to be in the feudal era without the responsibility of searching for the jewel shards.

Taking in a deep breath, Kagome prepared to start on her journey.

________________________________________________________________________

Kagome heard a scream as she was walking past a village. Turning, she saw a demon attacking the people living there. Without giving a second thought to it, Kagome rushed forward to try to help.

"Hey! Look over here!" she yelled, drawing the youkai's attention. She lifted her bow and shot an arrow at the demon, feeling extremely grateful to Kikyou for helping her train her powers.

The arrow hit the demon and it roared in anger. "You dare attack me, puny human? For this insolence, you shall suffer a fate worse than death."

With that, the demon started to chant some sort of spell.

"Well, you won't finish it!" yelled Kagome as she fired another arrow. The demon was purified, but not before it managed to finish the spell.

"Huh, that'll teach it to mess with me," muttered Kagome.

She turned to the villagers to ask if they were injured. However, she found them looking everywhere, as if searching for something. Shrugging, she shouldered her backpack and left the village.

She wasn't certain what had happened, but she didn't feel like anything had changed. The first warning she got that she had not escaped unharmed came when she sprinted madly across a village when she sensed a youkai and nobody seemed to notice her. Normally everyone would have stopped to stare at a frantic miko barrelling through their town.

But the worst surprise came when she accidentally collided with an old villager, and instead of slamming into him, she simply went tumbling right through. He didn't even notice her.

It was then that Kagome stopped long enough to look at her hands and realized that there seemed to be an odd shimmer around them. She waved her hands in front of a passing person and found that they couldn't see her or touch her.

To her own hands, she felt solid; but to the rest of the world, she had vanished, both from sight and from touch.

A simple attempt to defeat a demon had torn a hole in her life. A single spell and she had been turned into this- this invisible, intangible nothing. An unseen spectator who passed through everything she touched except the ground and went unnoticed except when she spoke. And because of the reactions most people had to being addressed by what seemed to be merely a patch of air, Kagome had spoken less and less often since the accident, fading away until she was merely a silent observer, watching the world pass by before her helpless eyes.


	2. Chapter 2

**Whisper on the Wind: Part Two**

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters in the story. They are all the property of Rumiko Takahashi.

Kagome sighed as she returned to the present. It had been two months since she had been transformed. Her backpack and her weapons had become intangible as well. Only she could feel or see them. She didn't want to return to her friends. They would worry, seeing her in this predicament. She wanted desperately to return home. However, the well wouldn't let her through.

_The only good thing about this is that I still can use my miko powers to fight, _thought Kagome.

Kagome paced softly drifted through a forest, not bothering to go around the trees, which blotted out her vision for a moment whenever she passed through them before giving way again to the forest.

The sun was beginning to set, turning the tall brown trunks of the trees into shadowed silhouettes. Kagome drifted aimlessly, not really caring where she went.

_To think that I would have loved this, to be able to enjoy the sunset in peace, _she thought. _Now all I want to do is go home. I really miss mum, grandpa and Souta. It's been two months. They are probably panicking now._

Eventually she would find a place to go to sleep, but since there was nowhere she needed to go and nothing she needed to do- tomorrow, or ever- she felt no hurry to settle down.

The spell had changed her so that she needed no food or water.

Pale evening had turned into cool, dark, star-sprinkled night before Kagome finally became bored, and as was her habit she simply landed and lay down where she was, her fear of being discovered or accidentally stepped on having faded long ago. She needed no rest, but it felt good to keep up with the habits of her past.

Pulling out her sleeping bag and crawling into it, Kagome drifted out of consciousness with the quiet hiss of the wind in the leaves of the trees around her whispering in her ears.

_Kagura, _was her last conscious thought, _she died alone. I am now like her, like the wind. Never seen, never noticed._

Kagome woke up still drowsy. However, the sound of distant voices dragged her from her sleep.

_"Hello? Who are you? Is anyone th-"_

A loud and venomous snarl filled the air in response, causing Kagome's skin to crawl and sending shivers flitting up and down her spine. All thoughts of sleep scattered and the miko instinctively crouched down, trembling for a moment before remembering that she was invisible and virtually invincible. With this knowledge came a feeling of relief and security, and also sudden curiosity.

Getting her bow ready, she walked towards the source of the snarl, scanning the forest around her with wide, alert eyes.

To her horror, she saw Sesshoumaru fighting. It wouldn't be anything unusual if he wasn't was bleeding from many wounds and was severely outnumbered.

Kagome saw that he seemed to be protecting something. As she took a closer look, she saw Rin and Jaken huddled against a tree trunk. Deciding to help, Kagome shot an arrow at the youkai trying to attack Rin.

It worked extremely well. Kikyou had been training her in her spiritual powers and Kagome's arrows were now even more powerful than the Tetsusaiga. She watched as Sesshoumaru seized the opportunity to get rid of the rest of the demons.

Kagome watched as Jaken and Rin ran forward to try and help their lord, but was stopped.

Sesshoumaru looked around suspiciously, trying to find the person who shot the arrow. A priestess might try to kill him while he was weak and injured. He did not want Jaken and Rin to be caught in the battle. However, when he could not detect anything, he motioned to them to follow him.

Kagome followed them, smiling slightly when they found her little clearing and sat down to rest. She placed barriers around the clearing to protect them. She watched as Sesshoumaru gestured to Rin that it was safe. Rin smiled at him and fell asleep.

Walking quietly up to Sesshoumaru, she looked at him in a new light, whispering as she did, "You do care for Rin, don't you?"

Sesshoumaru sat up sharply despite his wounds, his eyes flicking in every direction. Kagome backed away, holding out her hand in a trucelike gesture before remembering that he couldn't see her.

"It's all right," she whispered. "You're safe here."

Sesshoumaru was still looking around uneasily, but Jaken's reaction was not so restrained. He jumped up, trying to find the source of the quiet words. However, a small gesture from Sesshoumaru made him calm down.

Kagome sat down beside him, impulsively placing her hand upon his shoulder and feeling her heart sink as the intangible appendage passed through unnoticed.

"Would it be okay if I try to heal your wounds?" Kagome asked quietly. "You'll die if you continue losing blood at this rate."

Sesshoumaru looked around before nodding. Kagome used her power to try and scan if he had any internal injuries.

"If he was human he would have died." Was the only thing she could manage to say. Her throat had gone dry. She was amazed that he was fighting despite these wounds.

Kagome placed her hand over his wounds. She was only trained in fighting not healing. It would take a great deal of her powers and leave her exhausted. She watched, fascinated, as her powers healed the more life-threatening wounds. She ignored the small ones, for she knew that she would not have enough energy.

She was hardly even aware that it was happening; she had done it so often over the weeks since the accident that it was almost second nature.

Closing her eyes and tilting her head back, she began to softly sing, as she always did when the pain of her helplessness sharpened. And as she sang, she filled the small forest with the cool, clear sound of her voice.

Sesshoumaru seemed to slowly relax, sitting down and leaning back against the tree while occasionally looking in Kagome's direction. Occasionally his amber eyes flickered, as if trying to remember her voice from someplace.

Kagome hoped that he wouldn't recognize her voice. She ended her song rather hurriedly. Just because he and Inuyasha had come to a truce didn't mean that he would accept help from a miko who had travelled with his hated half-brother.

Sesshoumaru was rarely confused, but this time he was. He kept wondering why the voice sounded so familiar. Also, the voice seemed to come from beside him, but there was no one there. He hadn't caught the scent of a human either, for the miko was sure to be human.

Suddenly, he felt a pressure on the wounds which had not been healed. To his surprise, a bandage appeared out of thin air and wrapped itself around his arm.

Kagome smiled at the obvious shock on the demon lord's face. _The things inside my bag are only intangible when held by me, _she wanted to say, but didn't dare to.

Sesshoumaru soon fell asleep. He knew that his wounds would probably heal by the next day. Seeing that his lord was safe, Jaken grudgingly allowed himself some rest.

Kagome smiled and started singing again when she saw that they were all asleep.

Her voice cascaded from one song into another. As the melody continued, Kagome's voice rose and fell passionately, her soul caught up in the fire of the song. And through it all Sesshoumaru slept, his wounds healing.

Kagome continued to sing to her strange companions, the beautiful but ordinary scattering of trees being transformed by her voice into a place of safety, guarded by the songs which poured from the young priestess's heart.


	3. Chapter 3

**Whisper on the Wind: Part Three**

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters or the song. The song is every heart, the English version, by BoA. (I'm not sure if it is correct, but that is the name I got when I searched for the lyrics)

The ending might make it seem like the last chapter but it isn't.

Kagome's voice trickled softly through the forest, mingling with the liquid chatter of the tumbling stream, but her heart wasn't really in it. She was alone, as she had been for the past several months. Sesshoumaru, Jaken and Rin had vanished the next day, without warning and without a trace.

The moonlight poured through the dappled canopy of leaves, the soft silver light caressing the ground and seeming to shiver in time with the slow, sad melody that haunted the shadowy woods. She had known that they would leave, but it still left an empty feeling in her heart. It had been nice to have people around her, even if for just one night.

Looking up, Kagome frowned at the sight of a shadow passing over the trees. It was fairly large for a demon- assuming that was what it was- and it was moving rapidly over the forest, as if searching for something.

_It's probably nothing_, she decided, lowering her head and closing her eyes. As she did, it distantly occurred to her to wonder where Sesshoumaru was. _I hope he's all right, even if he's forgotten all about me_, she thought; but the memory of him reminded her only too strongly of her own complete helplessness, and of the fact that even if he were here right now there would be nothing she could do; Nothing but watch, intangible and impotent as a whisper on the wind, forgotten by the rest of the world.

~ *~*~*~

Lord Sesshoumaru stood ramrod straight on his balcony, his arms folded and his mind sunk deep in thought. He had finished the work for that day. He never did like paperwork. As evening fell, Sesshoumaru found himself contemplating the night when he had met the miko.

Something was nagging at his memory, whispering to him like the notes of a long-forgotten tune, and restlessness stirred within him as he strove to place his finger on the feeling or thought that was tugging at him. Everything was settled for the day and he wanted to search for the miko who had helped him.

The sense of restlessness got the better of him, and summoning his youki cloud, Sesshoumaru flew to the forest where he had been attacked. For several minutes he drifted aimlessly, wondering where to find the miko in the large forest. Even after just one night of knowing her, he knew that she couldn't be found if she didn't wish it.

Suddenly he turned around, swiveling to catch the drifting traces of a strange sound, which seemed to separate itself from the rustling of the leaves in the wind even as it harmonized with them. It was coming from a small forest ahead and to his right; and, Sesshoumaru glided toward the source of the sound, which resolved itself as he approached into the clear yet dreamlike melody of a strangely familiar song. As he drew closer, his sensitive ears picked up the sound of running water, which blended with the voice of the singer and the whisper of the leaves as if it were meant for them.

Slipping through an opening in the canopy, Sesshoumaru alighted softly so as not to startle the singer. The singer must not have heard it either, for the low, haunting sound of her voice continued to flow among the trees and bushes, like it was part of them.

For several minutes the heartrending melody continued; then suddenly the soft voice faltered, the flow of music coming to a hurried halt as if the singer had opened her eyes and been surprised by his presence. Sesshoumaru blinked, suddenly realizing that the song had carried his mind back to that particular night when he had been injured. Healing here and being both confused and comforted by the seemingly sourceless streams of music that had poured over him. A slow smile crept over his face and he said softly, "I remember you."

Perched invisibly on a stone, Kagome felt her breath catch in her throat. He had _spoken_ to her! Sesshoumaru had actually spoken to her without it being a command or death threat. Blinking rapidly, Kagome couldn't hide the surprise in her voice as she answered quietly, "I didn't expect that you would return."

Sesshoumaru shook his head. "I am indebted to you for saving my life and am honor bound to help you if you ever need it. I greatly enjoyed your music- and I still do- yet I have never even seen your face."

Kagome hung her head. "My voice is all I really have to give. I'm invisible- I have been for months. I don't want to return to my friends like this."

Sesshoumaru nodded. "Well," he said, "I guess we would just have to find a counter-spell then."

Kagome gave him a small, shy, invisible smile. "Thank you."

"You seemed to enjoy singing."

Kagome blushed. Sesshoumaru could hear the embarrassment in her voice when she replied "I thought you were asleep."

The corners of Sesshoumaru's mouth pulled up as he sat down and leaned against a tree. "Not for the ending though. So, who are you? I feel like I have heard your voice somewhere before."

_Kagome felt briefly glad of her invisibility. S_he didn't want Sesshoumaru to know who she was. If he did, he might leave. She had missed having people around to talk to.

When Kagome didn't answer, Sesshoumaru added, "I will not pressure you if you do not want to."

Kagome hesitated, then sincerely said, "Thank you."

"You're welcome. Could you sing again?" asked Sesshoumaru.

Kagome took a deep breath to prepare herself, and started singing.

Tell me babe, how many do I shed my tears?

Every Heart, Every Heart is not a gentle yet

Shall I do? I can never say my loneliness

Every Heart doesn't know so what to say oh what to do

I was afraid of darkness cause I felt that I was left alone

So I prayed for help to the distant million stars

Round & Round the planets revolve round the sun

And we always seek after love and peace Forever more

Growing growing woe baby we can work it out

Look up at the sky

Every Heart is shining all today

Show me now, What kind of smile do I come across

Every Heart

Every Heart can take a step towards the dreams

All of us what to take a lasting happiness

Whenever you feel sad, I wanna hold you & give you a sound sleep

Someday Every Hearts gonna free and easy

We have peace of mind

Someday all the people find the way to love

Goes & Goes the time goes on we are not alone

We live on together and we will find some precious things

Sometime we will smile sometime we will cry somehow

Don't forget believing yourself - Tomorrow's never die

There is the warm heart places on my mind

In my earlist day's there and it's so sweet

There are many stars they have talk with me so kind

They say yes always time's a friend of mine so shine

Round & Round the planets revolve round the sun

And we always seek after love and peace forever more

Growing growing woe baby we can work it out

Look up at the sky

Every Heart is shining all today

Goes & Goes the time goes on we are not alone

We live on together and we will find some precious things

Sometime we will smile sometime we will cry somehow

Don't forget believing yourself - Tomorrow's never die

As her voice continued to ring through the forest, Kagome closed her eyes and allowed herself to get caught up in the sound, the flow, the meaning of the song. And as the song rose to the sky, she finally dared to accept the fact that she would no longer be just whisper on the wind.


	4. Chapter 4

Whisper on the Wind: Part Four

Kagome sighed in happiness. She was following Sesshoumaru back to his castle to find a way to break the curse. Soon, she would be visible again.

_Finally,_ she thought, _I will be able to regain my former life!_

However, Sesshoumaru's voice broke through her thoughts. "Miko," he said, "this Sesshoumaru would prefer it if you did not speak to anyone while in my home."

Kagome was about to retort when she noticed his tense posture. "It's fine with me," she said, giving an invisible shrug. "Nobody wants to talk to a patch of air anyway."

Sesshoumaru nodded. "My room and Rin's room have silencing spells on them. Those are the only places we can converse when we reach." Without waiting for her reply, he resumed walking.

They reached the castle soon. "Wow!" gasped Kagome in awe. The castle was large and majestic, seeming to have come out from a fairytale.

"Miko," Sesshoumaru warned, "youkai have sharper hearing than humans."

Kagome hurriedly became silent. Suddenly, a child's voice cried out, "Lord Sesshoumaru!" A little girl in a checkered kimono came running towards them, followed by a short green imp.

"Rin! Come back you disobedient child!" Jaken screamed, panting as he ran after her. Rin took no heed of his words, coming to a halt only when she stood in front of Sesshoumaru.

"Lord Sesshoumaru! Rin is so glad to see you!" Sesshouamru winced a little at her loud voice. By this time, the castle guards had come out to greet their lord. Many of them were hiding smiles, afraid to laugh as it may cost them their lives.

"Rin! Stop shouting!" screeched Jaken.

"Jaken..." Sesshoumaru said in a warning tone.

Jaken gulped and retreated. "No one is to bother me. There is something important I have to see to." With that, Sesshoumaru strode towards the castle. Kagome debated for a while whether to follow him, but decided to follow anyway. Jaken was still too terrified to move. Rin decided to go back to her room to play. Lord Sesshoumaru's orders were not to be disobeyed unless you wanted to lose your life.

After Sesshoumaru entered his room where he was sure no one could hear them, he spoke. "Miko, I know of a spell that can make you visible and tangible again, but it will last only an hour at the most. I will search for a way to break the curse, but you will have to use the other method till then."

"Okay, but how?" questioned Kagome. Sesshoumaru opened a drawer next to him and took out a bracelet.

"Put it on and connect with it using your powers. But as said, it can last for only an hour, and used once a day."

"Thank you!" Kagome took the bracelet and was pleasantly surprised when it didn't go through her hand. She was about to activate it when she thought of two things simultaneously.

_Sesshoumaru will kill me when he finds out who I am!_ Was her first thought. Her second thought was _why does he have something like this?_

"Why do you have something like this?" she asked.

"It was my mother's. She had a miko friend who gave it to her," replied Sesshoumaru.

"Why do you hate humans then?' questioned Kagome.

"Miko, you talk too much." he said.

"Well, I've been quiet for so long with no one to talk to after all."

Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow. "And so I get stuck with a talkative miko?"

Before Kagome could retort, he added "You can go where ever you want, but the rule of not speaking to anyone still applies."

Kagome nodded slightly, before remembering that he couldn't see her. Sesshomaru seemed to have sensed her consent as he left the room without another word.

Kagome walked aimlessly through the corridors. She was trying to find a door out to the garden. Suddenly, she remembered that she could walk though stone. Mentally berating herself for her foolishness, Kagome found the wall closest to the garden and walked through it to the next room.

However, she wasn't prepared to find Rin there, sobbing. "Rin? Why are you crying? Is something wrong?" Kagome asked, concern filling her voice.

Rin ceased her crying and looked around for the source of the voice. "It's okay Rin, you won't be able to see me."

Rin scanned the room for a final time before asking, "Are you here to help Rin? Rin lost her way."

"Sure Rin. I'm new here, so I'm not sure how much help I'll be, but I can stay with you until someone comes."

"Thank you. Rin's name is Rin. What's your name?"

"I'm Kagome."

________________________________________________________________________

When Sesshoumaru arrived to look for Rin, he heard Kagome's voice from the room.

"Miko, what did I say about not speaking?" he growled. "If anyone heard you they would try to attack Rin to find out who you are."

"But Rin was lost. I couldn't just leave her there." protested Kagome.

"You could have come to look for me. This Sesshoumaru does not take defiance of his orders lightly."

Through the entire conversation Rin was looking at them, or more precisely, Lord Sesshoumaru with pleading eyes. "Lord Sesshoumaru, please don't be upset with lady Kagome. Rin will be good and not lose my way anymore."

Sesshoumaru softened at his ward's pleading tone. "I'm not angry Rin, just slightly displeased that someone chose to defy my orders."

"It wasn't like I had a choice." Kagome retorted. "Why have you become so arrogant here anyway? You were much nicer before."

At her comment, Sesshoumaru's face took on its normally emotionless expression. "I have to keep up appearances. Concern is a sign of weakness." he replied coldly.

"Come, Rin." he commanded. Rin hurriedly rose and followed him as he walked out of the room.

Kagome stood there alone. _Could he not want to be like this?_ She thought to herself. _Is that why he pretends not to care about anyone?_

At the same time, Sesshoumaru was wondering_ The miko, Rin said her name was Kagome. Why does it sound so familiar?_


End file.
